Madden NFL 2004 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Published: Jan 13, 2003

Basics/Modes

Modes

FranchiseGone
is the season mode, but in its place is a much-improved Franchise Mode. Take
your team through one season or twenty... and manage the front office, stadium
location, team relocation, and everything else that comes with being an NFL
Owner/Coach/General Manger in the league these days. Our Franchise
Mode section breaks it all
down in three easy pieces: before, during and after the season. We explain it
all--from setting concession prices to drafting new players!

TournamentSet up your own tourney with up to sixteen teams.
Tournament types include single and double elimination, single and double round
robin. You can choose to do a fantasy draft before you begin as well, which
allows you to begin with an empty slate and stock your squad with players from
the entire
NFL pool.

Mini-CampMini-Camp gives you a chance to hone your abilities in a skills competition
around the country. Visit each NFL city and complete challenges to earn Madden
Cards. Visit our Mini-Campguide section for more info on how
to complete each challenge, and what you unlock.

Two Minute
DrillEarn valuable points to spend on Madden Cards by competing in this
two-minute drill mini-game. Score as many touchdowns, field goals and extra
points as you can in two minutes to earn Tokens.

Football 101
Football 101 is a tutorial mode that allows you to see the play run
through, then run it through yourself. Complete the play successfully, and
you'll earn Tokens that you can use to purchase Madden Cards.

PracticePractice lets
you open up all of the playbooks in the league and take them for a spin, against
various defenses. This is a great place to go before you start a Season or
Franchise, to get a handle on the playbook you'll be using. Practice offense,
defense or special teams here.

SituationSet every single parameter in a game situation:
score, time left, quarter length, ball position, etc., then play the situation
you set up. You can recreate classic scenarios or use this to try to wiggle
out of real-game scenarios that you mighht need help with.

Features

Create-A-PlayerCreate yourself, Marilyn Manson,
your high school science teacher, or Vin Diesel. We don't care. This is the tool
that lets you do it. For a superman, set all attributes to 99, then watch him
tear apart the league.

Create-A-TeamThis option lets you create a new
NFL franchise from the ground up, choosing everything from helmet color, climate
and logo to home city. You'll have to start with an existing roster to create
them, but you can trade for whoever you want once it comes time to start a
Franchise.

Create-A-PlaybookHere's where you get to play offensive
coordinator and create a playbook. Here you can modify an existing playbook,
including some generalized ones like Balanced, West Coast Offense, Run Heavy,
etc. Here you can also create custom formations and custom plays. Pretty much
whatever you can imagine can be done.

RostersHere you can edit the roster files for Play Now.
Trade and Release players, change teams' depth charts, and generally manage all
of the rosters in the league.

Historic TeamsNew to this year's
Madden, this allows you to edit the Rosters of old school teams, adding
appropriate names. Some of these teams will have to be locked by earning Madden
Cards. Find out which in the Madden Cardssection of this
guide.

Auto-Save
Auto-save is a handy feature that automatically saves (thus
the name) each time you complete a game in Franchise, change settings, etc.
It's handy for those people who forget to save before turning the machine
off, and convenient for everyone else. To turn it on, go
to My Madden, Load/Save, then Save. At the save screen, you'll see the control for
Autosave On/Off.